Aleks gritted his teeth against the pain blooming across his ribs where Arthur's blow had landed. Each breath came sharp, but he forced his legs steady, pushed his magic harder. A surge of brilliant white flared around him, scattering the nearest corrupted creatures backward like dry leaves. Their coordination splintered, their advance faltering.
He then focused on healing his wound, the surface of his skin shimmering with the transformation back and forth.
The beast beneath Neramor's Shell stirred again, sensing its puppets faltering.
Arthur, still half-shifted, staggered, his scales dulling slightly as his humanity fought back from the brink. He was a little far from the rest of the group but caught the shine of a precious item left behind by Aleks.
His gaze sharpened, cutting through the chaos. He could feel the deeper threat now, rumbling not just in the earth but in the very mana around them, a vast tide pressing inward.
